


21 Guns

by marauders4evr



Category: Danny Phantom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26995363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marauders4evr/pseuds/marauders4evr
Summary: The Guys in White will not rest until they destroy the human-ghost hybrid, but whoever said that Danny has to be the one to fight?
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82





	21 Guns

**Disclaimer: If this franchise belonged to me, it would be gayer.**

**Author’s Note: I’m working on a much longer (less depressing) Danny Phantom fanfic, but I’ve had this on my mind all day, so I wrote it up.**

**Content Warning: Some body horror. A depressing ending.**

_ Do you know what’s worth fighting for? _

_ When it’s not worth dying for? _

**21 Guns**

He could taste metal with a sour infusion of lime. The goop crawled up his throat, pushing its way through his clenched teeth, until the red and green mixture was running down his chin. Danny tried wiping it away but ended up gagging and coughing, spraying his plasmic blood onto the nearest agent. When the suited man scowled, Danny snarked, “Well, whose fault is  _ that _ ?”

He gingerly touched his side, the pain instantly causing him to flinch. Something was definitely broken. Something else was about to break. He teetered in the air, gravity nearly luring him down, though invisible strings seemed to grab him at the last moment. He hung there like the puppet they thought he was, forced to be part of this show. Heck, he was the main attraction. The one everyone had come to see.  _ Everyone _ . The sky was littered with GiW agents, all of whom wore sunglasses and scowls, all of whom had a weapon pointed in his direction.

He managed to dodge one of the blasts, only for it to hit the familiar sign behind him. Green and orange flooded his vision as the metal fixture slammed into him, pushing him down to the sidewalk. He phased through, battered and broken, kneeling on the concrete. He could see little handprints. The city had repaved the road when he was six. He had convinced Jazz to put their hands down into the wet concrete. A sign that this was their home. Now that the letters ‘F-e-n-t-o-n-W-o-r-k-s’ were scattered around the street, he supposed that the handprints were the only sign they had left.

Dazed from the fall, Danny reached out and touched the tiny imprint. He realized, with horror, that it was his skin touching the cold surface. He had transformed back. He was just wondering if he could phase through the door when it swung open. Clad in their jumpsuits, holding weapons of their own, Jack and Maddie Fenton burst out onto the battlefield.

“What’s going on?” Jack bellowed. “Who are you people?”

They nearly tripped over their own son.

“Danny!” Maddie shrieked. “Oh, god, what happened?”

Danny tried to explain: “I-I was just going to school—”

It wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the complete truth. He  _ had  _ been going to school. Backpack on his shoulders. Dread in his heart. He had flown through the window, only to be met with an army that could rival the Fright Knight’s. They hadn’t shown mercy, immediately blasting him in the stomach. The sign had fallen.  _ He  _ had fallen.

Why did gravity have to work at the most inconvenient times?

Sometimes, he felt like he didn’t even belong to this world’s physics. Heck, sometimes he felt like he didn’t even belong to the world.

That world teetered, coming in and out of focus. They had gotten him. They had really gotten him. And they weren’t about to let him go.

“Get away from my boy!” His mother had her arms wrapped around him, tears brimming her violet eyes. “Danny, what did they  _ do  _ to you?”

More fluid bubbled up as he coughed. He hoped that she wasn’t noticing the green, that she was associating it with the nachos and guacamole that he had eaten last night. He could explain it away. He could lie. Just as he had done for nearly a year.

But how much longer could he keep it up? Any of it? How much longer…?

Operative O was walking towards them, unaffected by the Fenton Bazooka that Jack had pointed at his chest.

“Sir, Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave these premises,” said the agent in a bored voice, as if he did this kind of thing every day. “We are a federal organization charged with hunting and destroying a human-ghost hybrid.”

“A  _ what _ ?” Maddie gasped.

“Our sources confirm that a human-ghost hybrid has been living in Amity Park.”

“Phooey!” Jack cried, his weapon still trained on the agent. “There’s no such thing!”

“What does this have to do with Danny?” Maddie demanded. “Someone call an ambulance! Someone  _ help  _ him!”

A crowd had formed, though no one was brave enough to act. This wasn’t a job for civilians like them. This was a job for a hero.

A bystander suggested, “Someone call Phantom.”

“He’ll know what to do.”

“He’ll save the day.”

Danny groaned.

“We need a hero!”

“We need—”

“Danny!”

Sam and Tucker burst through the mob, ignoring the drawn weapons, as they closed the distance between themselves and their friend.

“Hey, guys,” Danny weakly said. “Glad you could make it.”

They practically tugged him away from Maddie, slinging his arms around their shoulders, propping him up.

“I’m fine, really.” Danny coughed again, causing his friends to gasp. “Okay, that’s just poor timing.”

With her hands now free, Maddie was able to pull out her emergency phone. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m calling an ambulance.”

“Mom, I’m  _ fine _ .”

“No,” Operative K coldly said. “You’re not.”

“Get away from him!” Tucker roared.

“Do you have a warrant?” Sam demanded.

Ignoring them, the agent asked, “‘Danny’, is it? You are coming with us.”

“Like hell he is!” Jack bellowed, his finger on the trigger.

“What do you want with him, you monster?” Maddie shrieked.

“I assure you, ma’am,  _ I’m  _ not the monster,” Operative K said, staring Danny down. “I can also assure you that Danny has the information we need.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that, my good sir,” said a silky voice, as a figure stepped through the crowd. “You see, Daniel’s grades are utterly abysmal.”

“V-Vlad?”

Danny wondered if the loss of plasma and blood was causing him to hallucinate. No. Ivory hair tied at the base of his neck, a suit worth more than their entire house, a calm demeanour that hid an underlying chasm of sorrow and rage...

Vlad Masters had stepped onto the battlefield.

A buzz of whispers spread across the agents, with Operative K finally stammering, “M-Mister Masters? The Billionaire?”

A stunned Jack couldn’t muster his usual volume: “Vladdie.”

An equally surprised Maddie couldn’t muster her usual ire: “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask these gentlemen the same question,” Vlad said, walking forward with his hands behind his back, surveying Danny as if he was a painting in a gallery. “What is the meaning of this?”

Danny looked down and flinched. His white shirt was coated in red and green. His knees trembled as he tried to remain upright. He wasn’t going to fall even further. He wouldn’t give Vlad the satisfaction of seeing that.

Drawing up every bit of strength he had, the teenager snarled, “What are you doing here, Fruit Loop? Come to enjoy the show?”

“I’ve found that shows are much more entertaining when I know what the performance is all about,” Vlad said. “What  _ is  _ the meaning of this? For how long have the Guys in White been after you?”

Danny’s retort was caught on his tongue, as he fully realized what Vlad had asked. So, the old hybrid had recognized them.

Answering Vlad’s question, Sam snarled, “Those creeps have been after Danny Phantom for months.”

“Months?” Vlad let a bit of anger leak as he whirled around.

“We’ll take  _ decades  _ if we have to,” Operative K said. “We’ll stop at nothing until we rid this city of the human-ghost hybrid.”

“I see.” Vlad’s fingers twitched. “And have you  _ found  _ this hybrid?”

Operative O stepped forward. “We just took him down, but he disappeared when the sign fell.”

“And, yet, ‘Danny’ appeared with a very similar injury,” Operative K said. “Now, isn’t that interesting?”

“Is it?” Vlad challenged.

Maddie, who had just finished calling for the ambulance, let the phone fall from her fingers. She stared down the operative. “What are you implying?”

“They’re the government, my dear,” Vlad said, a definite edge to his voice. “You can’t trust anything they say, implicit  _ or  _ explicit.”

“Mister Masters, this doesn’t concern you,” Operative K said. “Our sources show us that you’re a reputable man, who lives in a Wisconsin mansion, with billions of dollars. You are not a threat to us.”

“See.” Vlad gestured. “The government rarely gets it right.”

Danny’s confused retort was cut off by his own grunt of pain. Sam and Tucker held him even tighter as Maddie said, “Don’t worry, sweetie, the ambulance is on its way.”

“He won’t be getting into an ambulance,” Operative K said. “The only way he’s leaving here is in one of  _ our  _ vehicles.”

Quick as a flash, Maddie had pulled out the Fenton Anti-Creep Stick. Jack raised the bazooka. Vlad stepped in between them, his arms at his sides, his palms out, his fingers curled.

“Vlad?” Danny whimpered.

The agents focused their weapons on the trio of scientists.

“No!” Danny lurched forward. “Guys, get out of here! This is  _ my  _ fight! Vlad, get them out of here! Get them  _ out _ ! Vlad!  _ Vlad _ ! Why are you even here?”

Vlad sighed and turned, trusting the other two to hold steady.

“If you must know, my boy,” he said, suddenly looking older than the teenagers had ever seen him, “I came here to see some old friends.”

“W-what?” Danny shook his head, trying to focus. “Look, Fruit Loop, if you wanna apologize, and let bygones be bygones, and sing ‘Kumbaya’, then  _ fine _ . Take my parents and get them out of here and go do all of that. Go!”

“Unlike Jack and Maddie,” Vlad said with a small smirk, “I’m not that interested in leaving you around to die.”

“J-just get out of here!” Danny begged, a distant siren looming. “This is  _ my  _ fight!”

“You’re fourteen, Daniel. You shouldn’t have to fight.”

“B-but I  _ can  _ fight.”

“You’ve fought long enough.  _ We’ve  _ fought long enough.”

The ambulance pulled up behind the army of operatives, the paramedics throwing their hands into the air as several agents targeted them.

“The fight is over, my boy,” Vlad said. “It’s time to go.”

“What are you—?” Danny began to struggle against Sam and Tucker. “No! What are you doing? Why are you helping me? Why do you care?”

“Daniel, I’ve always cared about you,” Vlad said with a roll of his eyes. “Now, stop being a stubborn teenager and give your Uncle Vlad a hug.”

Vlad’s arms went around him before he could react. Something clicked and snapped. A belt clung to his waist. The Spectre Deflector.

“N-no.”

Stepping backwards with a small smirk, Vlad said, “Consider us even. Consider us  _ equals _ .”

“Wait, no. Vlad,  _ no _ .”

“Miss Manson, Mister Foley, make sure he reaches that ambulance.”

“Vlad!”

Turning towards his parents, Vlad softly said, “Maddie, Jack—well—there’s so much I wanted to say, but not even Clockwork could give me enough time.”

“Vlad!”

Danny lunged against his friends, trying to break free, trying to fight.

“I suppose if I had to give my last confessions,” Vlad said, stepping out and facing the army, “I would confess that orange and turquoise are a horrible color combination. Also, I love you,  _ all  _ of you. Also, I’m the human-ghost hybrid.”

“Vlad!”

The black rings wrapped around his waistline...like a belt...

“ _ Vlad, no! Vlad! _ ”

Danny struggled to break free, even as his friends dragged him to the ambulance. The operatives let them go. They were too distracted by the battle. Vlad wasn’t going down without a fight and he wasn’t going down alone. He was flanked by turquoise and orange, right until the end. The scientists became soldiers. The commotion was cataclysmic, the screams of the fallen agents only drowned out by the screams of the fallen teenager. 

“ _ VLAD! _ ”

Lights. Blood. Green. There was always so much green.

“ **_VLAD_ ** _! _ ”

He wouldn’t go down without a fight. Neither of them would. Danny finally managed to break free, ignoring his own injuries, charging into the battle. He punched and kicked, fighting as hard as he could, only for a magenta blast to hit him. He fell, again, slamming into the concrete, right on top of the tiny handprints. His parents were on either side of him, though they were unable to rise, having been tied by magenta bolas.

No less than twenty-one guns were pointed at Vlad Plasmius.

He didn’t seem to notice them, instead focusing on the crying teenager, who was still trying to fight a losing battle.

“Well, little badger, you finally got your answer,” Vlad teased. When Danny could only tearfully stare at him, Vlad clarified: “We finally know what your mom thinks of me.”

Maddie was sobbing. She and Jack both were. Regardless of anything in the past, or perhaps  _ because  _ of everything in the past, they were trying to fight as hard as their son, trying to fight for their family, trying to fight for Vlad.

The guns clicked.

Vlad took a deep breath before saying, “Okay, Daniel, I need you to...I need you to listen to me: If you want to fight so badly for a worthy cause, then fight to have the Packers officially recognize their biggest fan.”

“V-Vlad—”

“And for god’s sake, do your homework. You’ve still got a lot to learn.”

“You... _ Fruit Loop _ .”

Vlad laid down his arms and spoke one last time:

“Until next time, son.”

_ When it’s time to live and let die _

_ And you can’t get another try _

_ Something inside this heart has died... _

  
  


_ Epilogue _

  
  


**_To Vlad Masters-Plasmius,_ **

**_Our #1 Fan_ **

Danny adjusted the belt, staring at the golden football. Every signature had been carefully scrawled across the award. It was perched on a shelf in the empty mansion’s foyer. Well, Danny supposed it wasn’t completely empty. He was here.

He had shown up a few minutes ago; Jazz had sympathetically driven him all the way to Wisconsin. His parents hadn’t been able to come. They were still...processing.

The carride had been bogus. Seatbelts and spectre belts didn’t mix, especially when rubbing against a bruised stomach. Unfortunately, he had no idea where Vlad had put the key. For the past month, he had been a human. His new life felt nearly as strange as when he had died.

Danny reached up and brushed his fingers against the surface of the football, against a name,  _ both  _ names.

“I hope this shelf holds up,” he muttered. “I didn’t realize a 24-karat football would weigh so much. I guess that’s one thing in life his money  _ could  _ buy.”

“Technically, my boy, it’s one thing in  _ death  _ that my money could buy.”

Danny spun around so quickly that his stomach ached.

It was as if someone had taken a photo of Vlad Plasmius and had turned up the saturation. His teal skin was nearly blinding, offset by his pitch-black hair. A smirk exposed pearly white fangs. “Why, Daniel, you look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Y-you died!”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“N-bu—” And suddenly, it hit him. “You’re a ghost!”

“I’ve been a ghost for twenty years.” Vlad looked away before saying, “Admittedly, I was also a human for those twenty years, but now…”

Danny didn’t know what to say. Vlad would never accept an apology, nor would he accept gratitude. His throat closed as he tried to think of what terms to use, before realizing that he didn’t even know what terms they were  _ on _ . Were they still enemies? Family? Both?

At last, he croaked, “Wanna hear how Mom cried at your funeral?”

Vlad’s face shone with delight. “I would absolutely  _ love  _ that, little badger.” Floating over to the door, he added, “Let’s invite Jasmine in, shall we? I have a feeling that I’m going to be here for a while...”

Side-by-side, the two halves opened the door.


End file.
